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(No Model.)

ZShBetS-Sheet 1.

S. B. STINE '8u J. V. SMITH. GOAL MINING MACHINE.

Patented Deo. 30,1890.

All* u I ill-IU (No Model.) 2 Sheets-Sheet 2.v S. B'. STINII 8a, J. V.SMITH.

COAL MINING MACHINE.

Patented Deo. 30, 1890.

Nrrn rares ATnNr SAMUEL B. STINE AND JAWES V. SMXTH, CF OSCEOLA MILLS,PENNSYLVANIA, ASSIGNCRS TO THE STlNE-SMITH MACHINE CO., OF SAME PLACE.

'COAL-MINING MACHINE.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. M3,925, dated DecemberSO, 1890.

Application filed September 6, 1886- Serial No. 212,779. (No model.) I

T all wiz/0m it may concern.-

Be it known that we, SAMUEL B. STINE and JAMES V. SMITH, of OsceolaMills, in the county of Clearfield and State of Pennsylvania, haveinvented a new and useful Improvement in Coal-Mining Machines; and we dohereby declare the following` to be a full, clear, and exact descriptionthereof.

Our invention relates to mining machines 1o emploved in undercutting thevein of coal in coal-mines, and has special reference to that generalclass of coal-mining machines shown in Letters Patent No.` 343,346,granted to us June S, 1886, its object being to simplify the t5construction of these machines and add to their efficiency for work, ashereinafter set forth. In the mining machine shown in said LettersPatent objections were found to the operation of certain parts, theprincipal ob- 2o jection being that the driving-chains could not bedrawn so tight as to prevent a slight swaying of the chains, and theknives or cutters thereon were thus thrown against the walls of the kerfor under-cut and frequently subjected to sufficient strain to break themoff. In that and other like mining-machines complicated gearing has beenemployed to transmit power from the engine-shaft to thedriving-chains,and in the mechanism for feed- 3o ing and withdrawing thetraveling carriage at the forward end of which the cutter-bar wasmounted,and the cost of the machine was increased thereby, while greatloss of power was occasioned by friction and the parts could not 3 5 bemade as heavy as desirable and were more liable to breakage under thesevere strains to which the machine was subjected. By our improvementsthese objections are substantially overcome.

In our improved mining-machine we have combined with the travelingcarriage having the rota-ry cutter-bar mounted at the forward end achain-shaft mounted in the carriage back of the cutter-bar and driven byan end- 4 5 less chain and a short driving-chain mounted on saidchain-shaft and cutter-bar and carrying knives or cutters to cut acourse for the chain in the coal, the chain carrying the cutters beingso short that all liability of the 5o swaying thereof and the breakingof the cutters is overcome. XVe have also mounted the engines on anincline and connected the engine or crank shaft directly to thedrivingshaft by suitable gearing, and we have operated the feedingmechanism from the drivlngshaft and the receding mechanism from theengine-shaft, thereby dispensing with both the intermediate shaft andthe recede shaft, and so simplifying the power mechanism of the machine.We have also mounted the 6o worm-rack, with which the feeding andreceding mechanism engages, on the stationary bed under the feeding andreceding mechanism, so dispensing with the two worm-racks and doublesets of such mechanism engaging therewith. XVe have also improved theconstruction of the clutch mechanism.

To enable others skilled in the art to make and use our invention, wewill describe the same more fully, referring to the accompany- 7o ingdrawings, in which Figure l is a top or plan View of our 1mprovedmining-machine. Fig. 2 is a side view of the same. Fig. 3 is alongitudinal section on the line m a1, Fig. l. Fig. 4 is a longitudinal75 section of the cutter-bar and chain-shaft on the line y y, Fig. l;and Fig. 5 is a View of the mechanism for operating the clutch.

Like letters of reference indicate like parts in each figure.

The stationary bed A is formed of the two side portions a, securedtogether by the rear housing a' and the cross-braces a2, the bed beingmounted on runners a4 to provide for the moving of the machine withinthe mine, the runners supporting the bed the proper distance above themine-door, and the rear housing ct extending across between the sideportions a back of the course of the traveling carriage B, While thecross-braces d? of 9c the bed extend across from the runners CL4' closeto the floor, so leaving space between the side portions a for themovement of the operative parts ofthe traveling carriage, and sovenabling the engines and operative mech- 9 5 anism to be loweredbetween the side portions of the bed. Supported longitudinally on thecross-braces a2 of the bed is the wormrack a3, with which the feedingmechanism engages to feed and recede the carriage, as roo hereinafterdescribed. The traveling carriage B is mounted in said stationary bed,as

fully described in said Letters Patent No.

343,346, the carriage being formed ol' the side bars Z1, connected atthe rear by the bed-plate c, supporting the power apparatus, and infront of the bed-plate by the cross-brace li and diagonal bars b2. rlhebed-plate c is bolted tothe side bars I) by means of bolts c', passingthrough slots or elongated bolt-holes c2, so permitting the longitudinaladjustment ot' the bed-plate on the carriage, as hereinafter described,screw bolts c, passing through lugs ct on the side bars l) against thefront edges of the bedplate to arrange for an exact adjustment thereofon theA carriage. Bolted t0 the side bars l or bed-plate c are theengine standards or frames c, at the rear ends of which are theengine-cylinders E, having the valve-chests d on their innersides, theair-supply pipe d communicating with the valve-chests, and air beingadmitted thereto through the valve (Z3 in the pipe (Z2. The valves areoperated by eccentrics d4 on the crank-shaft. The crank-sliaftf isjournaled in bearings fon the bed-plate in front of the vstandards c,the cranks f2 being secured thereto beyond the carriage, and thestandards having the guides e for the slides e2 0f the pistons e, whichare connected to the cranks by thc pitmen e, Journaled in the bearings gon the bed-plate c is the driving-shaft (l, the ends of which extendthrough openings in the standards e (shown in dotted lines) beyond thecarriage to receive the sprockets for the outer driving-chains, thecrank-shaft and driving-shaft being the only cross-shafts on thebed-plate.

Power is communicated from the crankshaft to the driving-shaft throughthe gearwheels 7L 7i', the gear-wheel h on the drivingshaft being madesufiiciently large relatively to the gear-wheel 7L to reduce the speedand increase the power necessary to drive the cutter-bar at the requiredspeed and without the interposition of any intermediate gearing, and thefriction of such gearing and the shaft supporting the same being doneaway with. As hereinafter described, the carriage is fed forward andwithdrawn by mechanism operated directly from these shafts fg, and forthis reason they are placed close to the bedplate, and to apply thepower from the engine to the crank-shaft f without interfering with thedriving-shaft g the engines are mounted on an incline, as shown, theslides e on the engine-frames e being placed above the driving-shaft gand inclined correspondingly to the engine-cylinder, as fully shown inFig. 2.

Mounted in bearings 7a2 7c3, secured to the cross-brace b and bed o,respectively, is the longitudinal shaft 7c, carrying at its forward endthe worm-wheel 7c', which meshes with the worm-rack a3 on the stationaryframe A, and through which the traveling carriage is fed 'forward andback in operating the machine. The carriage is fed forward by meansofthe worm-wheel 1T on the driving-shaft g,

which meshes with the worm-gear i ruiming loosely on the shaft i: andengaging therewith throughthe clutch m keyed to said shaft, and thecarriage is fed backward or withdrawn by means of the worm-wheel Z onthe crankshaftf, meshing with the worm-gear Z ruiming loosely on theshaft t' and engaging therewith through the clutch m. The speed of thedriving-shaft is about one-fourth that of the crank-shaft and the feedof the worm` gearing i' il is very slow, as it is made singlethreadcd,with but slight pitch, so that a slow feed ot' great power is obtained,while the worin-gearing Z l is operated from the fastrunningcrank-shaft, and is made doublethreaded and of more than double thepitch of the worm-gearing 'i i', and all necessary speed for recedingthe machine is obtained. By placing' this feed and recede gearing in thecenter of the machine and supporting the worm-rack on the cross-bracesof the stationary bed and under the feeding mechanism, we dispense withthe double set of such mechanism and worm-racks, so simplifying thefeeding mechanism, and we also apply the power in such position as toobtain more direct action of the parts.

The clutch m is operated by means of the sliding rack bar ni', mountedin suitable guides and having lingers m2 fitting in the annular seat m3in the clutch m. A pinion n on the lower end of the vertical bar nengages with the rack-face on the bar m', the said bar n having a handlen?, by means of which, through the pinion n and rack-bar m', the clutchcan be thrown into and out of engagement with either worm-gear l or t',accoi-ding to the, desired movement of the carriage B. By these devicesthe clutch-lever can be located at the rear of the carriage in a moreconvenient position for its operation by the workman. To stop thecarriage on its backward or recede movement, the clutch-bar n isprovided with the lever which, when the clutch engages with the recedeworm-gear Z', extends back of the bar a in such position that when thecarriage reaches the rear of the stationary bed it strikes against thestop or arm a5, secured to the stationary bed, and is by it pressedforward, so turning the clutchbar n', and through the pinion n, and rackbar m drawing the clutch m out of engagement with the worm-gear l', andso stopping the backward movement of the machine. In order to stop themachine in its forward movement, a similar stop or arm nf" is secured tothe stationary frame at a suitable point to operate the lever n3, whenthe traveling carriage is advanced the full distance into the Coal, thelever n3 then striking against the stop n and drawing the clutch out ofengagement with the worm-gear L", and so stopping the machine in casethe operator neglects to operate the clutch-lever to reverse themachine. The clutch-bar a is supported at its upper end by the bracketal, secured to one of the valve-cases- The. bedplate c is cut IOO whereit is reduced in width.

The rotary cutter-bar p is journaled in bearings p at the forward end ofthe machine, and the driving-shaft g transmits power to the rotarycutter-bar through the medium of chains, a chain-shaft? being journaledat the forward end of the carriage just back of the cutter-bar p, andthe rotary motion of the driving-shaft g being first communicated to thechain-shaft and thence to the cutter-bar. The driving-shaft is providedwith sprockets s, oneI within the carriage and one at each end of theshaft, where it extends beyond the carriage, and the chain-shaft lr hascorresponding sprockets 7*',the driving-chains S S passing over thesesprockets and the drivingchain S within the carriage passing above andbelow the engine-shaft f, and the outside chains S being mounted on theshafts g r beyond the cranks of said shafts, so that there is nointerference between them.

Rotary motion is imparted to the cutterbar p from the chain-shaft r bythe endless chaint passing over the sprocket r2 on the chain-shaft andthe sprocket pzon the cutterbar, the driving-shaft thus acting to rotatethe cutter-bar through the endless chains S S, the chain-shaft, and theendless chain t. In orderto eut a course or path for the endless chaint, we employ the knives or cutters 'u on said chain, as fully shown inFig. t, this short chain carrying the cutters instead of providing themain driving-chains S S' therewith, and the ordinary cutters t' on thecutter-bar cutting out a path into which thc main driving-chains S Senter. By so construct-ing the cutting apparatus we are` enabled toemploy a short cutter-chain instead of the long chains described in thepatent above referred to, and this short cutter-chain can be so mountedon the chain-shaft and cut-ter-barjthat there is practically no swayingmovement therein, and hence there is no liability of any one of thecutters striking against the coal in such manner as to subject it tosuch severe strain as to cause its fracture. The short chain alsorequires but few cutters, and for this reason the labor of sharpeningand repairing the cutters is reduced.

At w is shown the ordinary jack to engage with the face of the coal andsupport the stationary bed during the cutting operation, a similar jackbeing employed at the rear of the bed.

When the machine is in operation, after the stationary bed has beensecured in place, air is admitted to the engines and the rotary motionimparted to the cutter-bar through the cog-gearing h h', driving-shaftg, chains S S, chain-shaft 7", and cutter-shaft t. The clutch m is thencaused to engage with the wormgear i', and through the worm t' on thedriving-shaft, worm-gear t', shaft 7c, worin-gear k',

and worm-rack a* under the feed-gearing thc carriage is then fedforward, the cutter-bar entering and undercutting the coal. rlhe cuttersn on the chain if cut a path in the coal for the chain, the cutters t onthe bar cutting apath for the rest of the carriage which enters underthe coal, and the coal-dust is carried back by the driving-chains S S',which act to clear the course for the carriage as well as drive thecutter-bar. As soon as the carriage is advanced the full distance intothe coal the clutch is withdrawn from the worm-gear i" and caused toengage with the worm-gear l', and through the worm l on the crank-shaftand worm-gear Z the shaft 7c is turned in the opposite direction at amuch higher speed and acts through the worm 7c and worin-rack d4 torapidly withdraw the carriage. In case the operator neglects to operatethe clutchlever either in making the cut or withdrawing the travelingcarriage as the lever its during the forward movement of the carriagestrikes against the stop fn by turning the clutch-bar n through thepinion n and sliding rack m it draws the clutch from engagement with theworm-gear i', thus throwing the feed out of gear and stopping theforward movement of the machine, and, in receding, as the carriageapproaches the rear portion of the stationary bed-frame the lever n3comes in contact with the stop a5 and through the same mechanism drawsthe clutch from .engagement with the worin-gear l', thus throwing therecede out of gear and stopping the backward movement of the machine.The machine can then be shifted into position for the next cut and theoperation repeated.

By our improvements the operative mechanisin is much simplified andfriction of the parts and the power necessary to operate the machinegreatly reduced, While at the .same time heavier and stronger gearingmay be employed without increasing the weight and height of the machine,which is very important in this class of machinery, which is operated inmines and is necessarily shifted from point to point therein. Theemployment of the short cutter-chain also reduces breakage of cutters toa minimum and reduces the power necessary to operate the machine.

IV hat we claim as our invention, and desire to secure by LettersPatent, is-

l. In a mining-machine, the combination of a traveling carriage having acutter-bar and a chain-shaft mounted at its forward end and a shortchain passing around said cutter-bar and chain-shaft and driving thecutter-bar from the chain-shaft, substantially as and for the purposesset forth.

2. In a mining-machine, the combination of a traveling carriage having acutter-bar and a chain-shaft mounted at its forward end, a short chainpassing around said cutter-bar and chain-shaft and driving thecutter-bar from the chain-sh aft, and cutters on the chain to cut a paththerefor in the coal, substantially as set forth.

IOO

IIO

3. In a mining-machine, the combination of a traveling carriage having acutter-bar mounted at its forward end, a chain-shaft mounted back ofsaid cutter-bar, a chain or chains driving said shaft, and a short chaincarrying cutters driving the cutter-bar from the chain-shaft,substantially as and for the purposes set forth.

4t. In a mining-machine, the combina'ttion, with the stationary bed A,of the traveling carriage B, moving' longitudinally thereon and carryingthe cutter-bar at the forward end, the engine-standards c, supportingthe engines in an inclined position, thev crankshaft f, mounted infrontof the standards e and in journals on the bed-plate and carrying thegear-wheel 7i, the driving-shaft mounted in journals on the bed-plateback of the crankshaft and carrying the gear-wheel 71 and the drivingchain or chains driving the cutter-bar from said driving-shaft andpassing above and below the crank-shaft substaiitially as and for thepurposes set forth.

5. In amining-machine, the combination of the crank-shaft carrying thegear-wheel h and recede-worm Z, the driving-shaft carrying thegear-wheel 71,', meshing with the gear-wheel h and the feed-worm t",driving chain or chains, and feeding and receding apparatus operated bysaid worms, substantially as and for the purposes set forth.

In mining-machines, the combination of the stationary bed having thecross-braces a2. the worm-rack a4, secured to said braces, and thefeeding and receding gearing located above said rack and formed of therecedeworm Z, feed-worin fr', longitudinal shaft 7e, worm-gears Z t"thereon, clutch m, and worm 7o 0n the shaft 711, meshing in theworm-rack, substantially as and for the purposes set forth.

7. In mining-machines, the combination,

with the stationary bed and the traveling can riage carryingfeed andrecede mechanism,of the clutch engaging therewith, the clutch-barcarrying the lever n3, and the stops n 'n on the stationary frame actingto engage with the lever n3 and operate the clutch, substantially as andfor the purposes set forth.

S. In a mining-machine, the combination of the following elements,namely: a bed, a carriage traveling thereon and carrying the cuttingapparatus, the engines mounted directly upon the carriage, thecrank-shaft on the carriage between the engines and cutter-bar, themechanism for advancing the carriage and receding it, said mechanismhaving a revolving thread on the carriage, and having a threaded bar onthe bed to engage with the revolving thread, and power-transmittingdevices between the crank-shaft and the said revolving thread,substantially as set forth.

9. In a mining-machine, the combination of the following elements,namely: a bed, a carriage traveling thereon and carrying the cuttingapparatus, the engines on the carriage, the crank-shaft situated betweenthe engines and the cutter-bar, carriage-moving mechanism h-aving athreaded bar secured to the bed, and having a revolving thread on thecarriage, a continuously-moving worm and worm wheel to advance thecarriage, and continuously-moving devices between the crankshaft and therevolving thread for withdrawing the carriage, substantially asdescribed.

In testimony whereof we, the said SAMUEL B. STINE and JAMES V. SMITH,have hereunto set our hands.

SAMUEL B. STINE. JAMES V. SMITH.

WVitnesses:

E. BOLLINGER, WMY E. IRWIN.

